Saving the Planet?

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Fretless
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Saving the Planet?

Unread post by Fretless »

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It's time to do 'something for the environment' in today's world. Despite Trump's insistence that climate change is fake news and his view that nobody really gives a a damn about the global balance of nature - if you want to change the world then start in your own home.

But it isn't a simple matter.

Not sure how things are in the UK but here in The Netherlands 'GREEN' is the order of the day. I have separate wheelie-bins for:
paper/cardboard
Plastic
bio/kitchen/garden waste
general rubbish
and all glass jars & bottles get taken regularly to an underground silo in the village which now takes empty tins as well.
The house is filling up with receptacles for all the different sorts of waste we have to collect. And I mustn't forget when the wagons come around to empty the various bins or I'll have to wait a month before the next chance.

Energy is a constant attention-grabber as well. Spent most of yesterday with my plumber as we tried to sort out a fault in the solar boiler that is our main source for hot water. System should be easy - it registers when the temperature of the roof-panel is warm enough and starts a pump that sends an anti-freeze mixture into circulation, bringing heat from the roof to an exchanger in the boiler.
Except that the outside sensor wasn't working. Eventually, after climbing about on the roof for an hour, we traced the problem to the wiring and had to thread a new cable through a dusty attic full of spider-webs (guess who did that!).

Because of the earthquake problem in the north of the country due to gas production, the rest of us are now being told to reduce gas usage, which is the major source of energy for central heating in Holland. A couple of years ago we made a major investment in solar panels for electricity and a bio-mass central-heating system that runs on wood pellets.

All well and good, you feel proud that you are helping to save the planet AND in the long term you should come off financially better. The expectation is that these installations should hit the break-even point after 5-7 years use. BUT the Dutch government, in its wisdom, is already threatening a green-energy tax on those with solar panels and you don't earn much back if you produce more power than you use. Best result is to cover about 80-90% of your own requirements.

The price of wood pellets is going up steadily as well - especially if you use environmentally-friendly pellets sourced from managed forests. Trouble is that a lot of the big power-stations have switched from coal to bio-mass and there are now huge areas of forests around the world being flattened for our energy needs. Which does NOT make me feel as if í'm really making a positive difference. Also there are complaints about the micro-dust emissions that an installation like mine makes. Could be that these units will also get taxed in the future. Laughable though as my bio-mass chimney produces a tiny bit of heavily filtered and cooled smoke in relation to all the wood-stoves that get fired up daily in this rural neighbourhood.

On the bright side, shifting sacks of pellets regularly around is good for the condition and you really remain aware of your energy use in doing so - a daily reminder not to be wasteful.

As the great philosopher Kermit once said:
"It's not easy being green." :character-kermit:

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
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Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
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CN211276
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EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by CN211276 »

I have just had a right spat with a climate change nutter, the type who attempt to fly drones at Heathrow, acusing me of destroying the planet. :lol: It is on the Chord users Facebook thread when I mentioned that I leave my NVA gear and also Chord Qutest and Mscaler on stand by when not in regular use. He jumped on me like a tonne of bricks. I am not one to take it on the cheek and responded ad hom as I would in the time of EOTW. The mods took my side as what I posted about him has remained. A notification I had about a post he made on the thread last night did not show that anything he had written. It had obviously been removed.
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

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Fretless
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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by Fretless »

The solar panels have meant that I need a DC blocker on the BMU - but turning audio equipment off?
No way! :naughty:

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

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CN211276
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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by CN211276 »

I do not have solar panels but require a DC blocker on my BMU. I will not be cancelling the six flights I will be on in the coming weeks but can help save the planet by turning my equipment off when I am away. :lol:
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

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Andy-831
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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by Andy-831 »

I have solar panels, an air source heat pump and a BMU and do not need a DC blocker.
Analogue
401 / PU7 / AT33ev
Longdog Audio Quartz Garrard PSU.
Longdog Audio Phono stage (MCj1)
Digital
NVA BMU.
Innuos Zen / Caiman Seg and Dorado
Cambridge CXC
Amps
Tron Seven Linestage.
Bel Canto Set 40, or LDA 300B Set Monoblocks
Speakers
Tannoy GRF Memory.
Tannoy ST100 Supertweeters

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karatestu
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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by karatestu »

My whole system gets turned off when not in use. It's the right thing to do imo.

I have a log burner which more or less heats the whole house. I get the wood free apart from my time on the farm chopping it up. The wood comes from the tree surgery i do and a coppice on the farm. Gets toasty hot sometimes. All wood is seasoned for a minimum of two years before i burn it.

Not good for the environment you say. Well i convinced my father to take a wet, boggy 8 acre field out of cereal production and turn it over to trees and wildlife. That was over twenty years ago and i have coppiced a fair amount already but the trees are species that grow back. The place is teeming with wildlife especially after i hired a 360 degree excavator and dug an 8ft deep pond.

It is irresponsible to think that because you won't be around in the future that you don't need to do something now that could make a difference in the future.
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Ordinaryman
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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by Ordinaryman »

It's easy to forget what a paracetik breed we are and how "we" are more important than anything else,now and in the future. Whatever little thing we "give back" can,maybe counts? So good for you and that is in no way condescending I can assure you.
We all have a responsibility, like it or not. Rant over.

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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

Nothing you do, will make the slightest bit of difference. The most significant thing you can do is vote for a political party who take the matter seriously.

Being environmentally friendly and having a low carbon footprint while voting tory is self serving hypocrisy.

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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by Ordinaryman »

Who voted Tory? If someone did why would this be more hypocritical than voting for any other party? Or is this assumption that anyone who may be concerned about this place we inhabit has to vote Tory? In my book we are all parasite, unless we change. What "we" do this is not a question of politics but maybe politics influencer of what we do and are allowed to :grin: '

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Re: Saving the Planet?

Unread post by Firebug1 »

Planet survives, humankind is not going to...
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